Many questioned the wisdom of the Baltimore Ravens trading Super Bowl hero WR Anquan Boldin in the offseason for only a sixth-round pick-especially in light of the Ravens scramble to fill Boldin's role by the recent signings of veteran WR Brandon Stokley and TE Dallas Clark. General manager Ozzie Newsome, however, told Peter King of MMQB.com that he has no regrets over trading the veteran wideout because the money saved helped him rebuild his defense. “The acquisitions of Elvis Dumervil and Michael Huff are a direct result of the money we saved from that contract,†Newsome said. “And other guys we got—Chris Canty, Marcus Spears, Daryl Smith—were helped by the savings. So if you ask the question, you can’t just say, ‘Do you wish you kept him?’ You also have to look at the unintended consequences of your actions.†More important than the sixth-round pick the team got from the 49ers for Boldin is the $6 million in salary Newsome was able to wipe from the books. Losing tight end Dennis Pitta for the season leaves the Ravens with a hole in the middle of their offense, but Newsome filled many more gaps on the other side with the savings (Dumervil, Huff, Canty and Smith count $6.47 million against the cap this year). “You have to have an owner who understands the long haul, and I’m fortunate that Steve Bisciotti does,†said Newsome. “When Dumervil came free, unexpected of course, we weren’t looking to spend that kind of money [five years, $27 million], but Steve’s point was, ‘We’re going to be winning, and we’ll never be able to get a pass rusher like that in the draft where we’ll be picking.’ That’s really beneficial for a GM like me, to have an owner who can see down the road and see the big picture. . . .I took a safety net from Joe [Flacco], and I’m well aware of that. I’ve been a safety net for Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar, so I understand what he’ll be missing.†There is no way of knowing if this kind of thinking will help or hurt the Ravens in the short-term but under Ozzie Newsome the Ravens have been a model of stability and sustained success. Source: The Redzone
